


even though it always ends in laughter

by Xazz



Series: Entropy [2]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Hive (Destiny) - Freeform, Season of the Hunt AU, everyone adopts Crow eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:14:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29574423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xazz/pseuds/Xazz
Summary: Guardians got to start over when they were reborn. It’s a petty thing to be mad about after all the time but Shin still finds a way to be mad about it. He just wants a fresh start, like every other Guardian got.
Relationships: Female Guardian & Shin Malphur
Series: Entropy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2172795
Comments: 7
Kudos: 23





	1. I can find excuses for all my shit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here I am. Writing more of this stupid ship featuring the worst man in the Destiny universe.
> 
> First Shin’s gotta unfuck the shit he fucked up from the last story. Because he suppppper fucked that up, to no one’s shock.

There was a shimmer aboard the ship as someone transmatted aboard. No one had been aboard in a while. The cockpit counsel beeped and flashed indicating a myriad of missed messages and hails from different Guardians but no one investigated the unanswered messages. Europa was still lonesome. More populated as of late with Guardians allowed to deal with the ragged remains of Eramis’ army and a terrified non combative Fallen refugees who were tired of always fighting and dying to the hands of Lightbearers and just wanted some stability in their lives again.

Not his problem.

The hard pouch on the bed hadn’t been disturbed much other than the Ghost inside having moved it some in their thrashing around. He picked it up. It buzzed with Light that made his ears ring as he unzipped it.

The Ghost flew out in a flash, too focused to even see who’d freed it. Then it focused. “Shin!” the Ghost cried. Shin was surprised when it came over and pressed against his face not unlike a cat happy to see you. He’d never seen his Ghost this affectionate. Ever. Not to him. Not to Jaren. “Where have you been? Why did you leave me here? You could have died!”

“I’m fine,” he said softly, voice unused to talking. He hadn’t done a lot of that in a long while. He held his hand out and his Ghost landed right on it like a little bird. For a moment he thought about crushing it, snuffing out its Light. It was an intrusive thought he’d had more than once since being made a Guardian. He rocked back and forth on Shin’s hand happily and the thought passed. He smiled softly under his helmet. Nice to know his Ghost actually gave a shit about him.

He put his hand down and his Ghost floated up. “Where have you been?”

“Let’s not talk about it,” Shin said and pulled off his helmet. He’d been gone long enough to grow a beard, his hair long. It hadn’t felt that long.

“But-

“I don’t want your nattering,” he waved away the Ghost’s curiosity. “How long I been gone for?” Shin went to the closet of a lavatory in the ship. The damage was worse than he thought.

“About two months,” the Ghost said. Shin was looking unhappily at his beard. It was so shitty and now in the open air itched like crazy. His hair was also way too long. He wasn’t crazy about dying and his Ghost remaking him the way he’d been last time. He wasn’t sure he had enough Light in him to be brought back right now.

“You missed like fifty messages,” his Ghost called from the cockpit, listening to them.

“Any of them important?” He just jammed the helmet back on. He’d rather be in a helmet than not. Didn’t need the entire system to know Shin Malphur couldn’t grow a beard.

“Two. They’re both from Wolf,” his Ghost said as he came into the cockpit.

“Right,” he said slowly. That felt like a long time ago. He’d really fucked that entire thing up. “Play them,” he sat in the pilot’s chair. He needed to remember how to fly this damn thing. It’d come to him.

“This was from two weeks after you left,” his Ghost said.

“Shin, it’s Wolf. I’ve been thinking about what you said last time. I told Glitterbomb by the way but they’re sworn to secrecy,” he winced but also expected that. “I just needed some second opinions you know? You just dropped that shit on me. Anyway, I’m not so ready to shoot you now if you want to talk about it. I’m Towerside right now.”

“That’s good,” his Ghost said helpfully.

“What’s the other one?” Shin asked.

“This one is from two weeks after the last one,” Ghost said as Shin remembered how to activate the NLS drive.

“Shin, it’s Wolf. You good? I know my last message reached you. Haven’t heard from you. Drifter’s even said you haven’t shown up to glare at him lately. Or make googly eyes at him. Whatever you do when you drag my ass into Gambit. Hope the wilderness didn’t get ya.”

“Also sounds very good,” Ghost said.

“Nah. She’s super pissed I didn’t respond to her first message. Her go to annoyed at me move is bringing Drifter into it because she knows he drives me up a wall,” Shin said.

“What?”

“She never sends a follow up. She knew I got the message. I was just ignoring her,” he groaned and rubbed the side of his helmet. “Fuck. Fucked that one up too, Malphur,” he sighed.

“Would you like to send her a message now?”

“I bet she has me set to listened,” he huffed. Wolf was that petty. He turned his ship around. He needed to top off his fuel back at the Tower. “Send out a line to Cat instead.”

“Cat? Why them?”

“Because they respect a good shot more than they would be petty about me ghosting Wolf,” he said.

“Ah,” Ghost nodded slowly as Shin engaged the NLS drive after inputting the coordinates for Earth. They needed to do an orbital curve between Mars and the Reef’s orbits as Earth was on the other side of the sun. He leaned back in his seat, letting the autopilot navigate the orbit and the NLS drive’s output. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Cat, it’s Shin. Wolf’s pissed at me, I’m sure you’ve heard. You know where she is? From one ace to another I won’t tell her to told me.” He nodded at his Ghost.

“Communication sent,” and to his great surprise his Ghost came and nestled on his shoulder in his hood.

“You’re real affectionate. Miss me huh?”

“I was very worried about you- oh!” Shin smirked when his Ghost was surprised when Shin reached over and gave his Ghost a little rub on one of his prongs. Maybe they wouldn’t be so cold too each other. It certainly went a long way for Shin liking his Ghost when he seemed to actually care about Shin.

The NLS drive disengaged and they were hurtling towards Earth. Shin took controls back. They were entering the atmosphere when his Ghost said, “Cat responded.”

“They also pissed?”

“They answered you,” was all he said.

Ghost waited until they’d cleared orbit and were in the upper atmosphere before playing the message. “Hey Fucker. Wolf’s in the Reef. Playing with Spider. You didn’t hear it from me.”

“Yeah, they’re also mad,” he sighed.

“You were gone a very long time, even for you. Two months with no contact is not an insubstantial amount of time for you to follow a lead.”

“Didn’t feel like two months,” was all Shin said quietly.

The City was in view now, and the Traveler. Ghost got him in contact with the Tower’s air tower command and they gave him a route to take. “Drop me off Annex side,” he said as they did a fly around, joining a few other ships coming in to drop off Guardians.

“Your quarters aren’t near there though.”

“Yeah, I know. Don’t want to have to look at the Vanguard, or other Guardians,” he said.

“Hmmm. Very well,” and he was transmatted down onto the lower part of the wall. All parts of the Tower and the Guardian living quarters in the wall were connected. They just weren’t visible to most people. The Red Legion had destroyed their original Tower, burned out their meeting spaces and vaults but most spaces in the wall itself had been maintained. Including secret meeting rooms, the extensive tunnels and connecting corridors, and most of the living space for the Guardian militia. Most people didn’t know about the inner guts of the wall, thinking it was solid. It wasn’t. Lightless also had no way to access those areas.

Shin hoped he still could.

He headed around the outer part of the wall. Here it was catwalk access only. A lot of Lightless were too nervous of the drop to come out onto them so it kept the pathways clear.

The outer entrances to the wall were locked by a strange pseudo Golden Age style tech. It required a very specific key. A mote of Light.

Shin held out of his hand to make one. “Oops,” he said and looked around quickly when instead an mote of Darkness appeared. “Not you,” he was alone and closed his fist around it. He tried again. Still Darkness. How annoying. He turned around on the catwalk and leaned against the railing, looking at the Traveler. “Hey big guy. Could use a little boost here,” he said. But the Traveler, of course, did nothing.

His Ghost did appear though. “I thought you’d be inside by now.” Shin just held his hand out and a mote of Dark appeared. “... That’s not good,” he said.

“It’s fine. I have it under control,” he closed his hand. “Just haven’t touched the Light in two months,” he said.

“Even this close to the Traveler?”

“Oh I feel it,” Shin said. “I’m just too full for it to get in,” he frowned.

“I don’t know how to help you,” his Ghost said slowly.

“I know. Scan the Vanguard bulletin, see if there’s any news while I wait for the Light to get through my fat head.”

His Ghost chuckled. “Very well.”

Shin just watched the Traveler while Ghost did just that. “More Guardians can use Stasis now, not just Glitterbomb,” his Ghost announced. “There is an official notice by the Tower that Guardians with Stasis abilities were to stop starting inpromptu snow ball fights in the hanger. And to stop making snowmen that looked like Arach Jalal...” Shin laughed.

Maybe he’d been too moody. It was like the laugh created a little bubble in him and he felt the Light lodge itself back in his chest. “Ah, needed that,” he said and opened his hand. A mote of Light appeared in his palm. “Any other funny ones?” Shin asked his Ghost as he stepped away from the railing, slotting the mote into the door lock.

“Hmmm,” the door opened and Shin stepped inside the generic, gray, corridors. The hallways inside the Tower were nothing exciting. Guardians had lost the privilege of decorating the halls about fifty years ago when someone had decided to cover an entire thousand feet of corridors with spiders and Fallen skulls. “There’s a notice for certain Guardians that jumping off the Tower to scare the Lightless is, once again, not permitted,” his Ghost said as Shin navigated the hallways. He snorted. His Ghost kept looking while Shin headed for his rarely used quarters.

Someone had left a note on his door when he arrived. It looked like a bomb? It took him a second to realize it was the Glitterbomb insignia. “Hey,” Shin said to his Ghost. “Go in there and see if there’s any surprises waiting for me,” he said and took the paper down from the door. His Ghost disappeared. He looked at the back. Nothing there. His Ghost reappeared. “It safe?”

“Seems to be. Why?”

“Glitterbomb left this,” Shin dug around in his pouches for his door key. Took him a minute to find the fob.

“Maybe just a ‘we’re looking for you’,” his Ghost said. “You were gone a long time.”

“Probably,” he scanned the fob and the door unlocked. He went in.

Unlike his ship Shin’s Guardian quarters was sterile and unlived in. The bed was made, there was nothing on the walls, nothing on the floors, just a fine layer of dust on everything. He preferred living on his ship than here but the Tower had ameminties that his ship didn’t. Like running water for a shower and to shave the disgusting beard he was sporting.

He took his helmet off and put it on the dresser. “Home away from home,” he said.

“How long are we staying?”

“Long enough for me to get this shit off my face,” the beard was so itchy it was horrible. “And maybe sleep? I don’t think I slept in two months,” he said slowly, unsure of himself. He hadn’t slept. But it also hadn’t felt like two months. Or at least he didn’t remember sleeping.

“Okay. I put the ship in the hanger to be refueled and checked over,” his Ghost said.

“Good,” and Shin went into the bathroom, removing pieces of his gear and leaving them on the floor. He heard his Ghost making disapproving noises behind him. Oh well. He used one of his knives to shave, not owning a razor. He didn’t usually need one. He left his hair. He’d deal with it later. Then he showered, staying in there until he looked more like a cooked lobster from the hot water.

His Ghost had transmatted all his gear onto his mannequin when he came out of the bathroom and fell face first on his bed with a tired groan. He was suddenly exhausted.

“You okay?”

“Tired,” Shin said while also raising a hand in a thumbs up.

“Oh. Well get some sleep. I just got the time frame for your ship. It won’t be ready for four hours.”

“Perfect amount of time to nap,” Shin pushed himself up and laid down correctly on his bed.

“Then what?”

Shin closed his eyes. “Then we’re going to the Reef. Hopefully Wolf’s not too mad. It’s been a month since her last message.”

“Not try to catch her in the Tower?”

“Last time she was out at the Shore she was there for weeks tracking Cayde’s murderers. I don’t know what she’s out there for now but her track record for just being in and out of that place isn’t good,” Shin said idly.

“I suppose,” his Ghost said slowly. “Well, get some sleep, and then we’ll see her.” Shin nodded and closed his eyes. He was surprised he went to sleep almost immediatly. For the first time in over a year he didn’t have terrible dreams of those Pyramids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you read it and enjoyed it you should leave a comment!


	2. she’s pretty, and I like her but she’s too well

The Reef was a crowded air space. It was still an active combat zone to disperse Scorn, Fallen, and Cabal forces. The Derelict was also floating around with it’s own armada of ships of Guardians wanting to play Gambit in stationary formation around them.

Shin took the LZ closest to Spider’s den. When he landed there was a fireteam of three arguing in their helmets nearby. He could tell by the Titan’s wild arm gestures. He just walked past them and kept out of the way of a Scorn patrol. He heard gunfire kick up as he entered the Spider’s lair.

The bloated Fallen was dealing with another Guardian when he arrived and a third was staring at the numerous bounties Spider had on offer on his holo board off to the side. The Vanguard didn’t approve of Guardians making deals with Spider but Glimmer was a limited resource. It was the worst kept secret in the Tower Guardians traded in Spider’s shady market deals. The Vanguard had to know but it was so common there was nothing they could really do to prevent it. Official Vanguard statement was to not engage in trading with Spider, but they just turned a blind eye to it.

One of Spider’s goons produced a block of Glimmer almost as big as the Warlock trading for it. Her Ghost immediatly transmatted it back to their ship and the Warlock left.

That was why Guardians defied official Vanguard mandates to trade with Spider.

Shin stepped up into view of the suspended Fallen. “Spider,” he said.

“Well well, if it isn’t the Golden Boy himself,” Spider rasped, toying with the empty Ghost shell in one hand. “What do I owe the pleasure, ey?”

“I don’t have anything for you today, Spider. Just looking for someone.”

“Oh? And how can old Spider help you with that?”

“I heard Wolf’s running with you-

“Ha!” Spider coughed out a laugh.

Shin just waited. “You know where she is?”

Spider leaned forward, bracing his hand on one of his destroyed knees. “I ain’t in the business of telling random Guardians where my business partners are. What you got for me, Malphur?”

Shin rolled his eyes and looked at the holo board. The Titan there had left. He didn’t have anyone on his radar behind him either. He made a show of reaching into a pouch on his person and pulled out a mote of Darkness. “How’s this?” Shin held it out on his palm.

“And where’d you get that?” Spider said, very interested. Shin wasn’t sure Spider even knew what he’d do with something like this. But it was rare, dangerous, and valuable; Spider wanted it.

“I hunt corrupt Lightbearers for a living. Where do you think I got it?” Shin huffed.

“Heh. Well you’re in luck. She’s in,” and Spider made a motion to indicate through the left door.

“She was here the entire time? Changed my mind,” and he closed his fist around the mote, absorbing it back into his body.

“Hey now,” Spider growled. “We had a deal.”

“I made an offer,” Shin said. Spider growled wordlessly and the two goons at his sides held their spears threateningly at Shin. “Watch your prickly boys. Would hate to have to dead them,” Shin said casually. They both knew Spider couldn’t do anything to Shin. Not really. He could inconvenience Shin later but that was the worst of it.

“Good trick, I admire that in a Guardian. You’re all too damn good for my liking,” Spider grunted and leaned back in his hanging chair. Their boss’ change of mood made the Fallen goons relax too.

“Most of us,” Shin said and went to the door. It opened and he walked through. It was a short hallway that curved around the back of Spider’s main area of operation to a small chamber. It looked like someone lived here. It was a mess though. A large pillar obscured the other side of the small room but he could see half of two figures behind it.

“-so then if you do this-“ he heard the mechanical sound of gun parts moving against each other. “You get something like that.” It was Wolf’s voice. Well at least Spider hadn’t been lying.

“Oh, I never would have figured that out,” said a voice he didn’t recognize at all. He stepped around the pillar and saw two Hunters. One he recognized as Wolf by her pristine cloak and she wasn’t wearing her helmet. The other had a poncho cape as raggedy as Shin’s favorite one, their hood up so Shin couldn’t see their head.

“You would have, eventually. You’re clever. But I don’t mind showing you,” Wolf said, looking at the other Hunter, smiling. “It’s a lot to learn all at once though.”

“I appreciate you showing me.” One of their Ghosts must have noticed Shin because the man turned the rest of the way. “Oh, sorry, uh—

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Wolf said.

“Looking for you,” Shin said, probably coming off too aggressively. Shin didn’t recognize the man: Awoken, yellow eyes, hiding most of his face in his hood, looked very nervous to see Shin.

“Uh, Wolf, who’s that?”

“A pain in my ass,” she said. Yeah. She was still pissed. Well at least he knew what to expect out of this conversation.

“So... Glitterbomb?” the man asked, sill uneasy.

“No. What do you want, Shin?”

“Can we talk?”

“Sure, when I’m done here.”

“Who’re you, kid?” Shin at least recognized whoever this Awoken was he was new to his Light. New Lights had a... fizziness about them. It was hard to explain. And he had Spider’s logo on the front of his armor.

“I’m Crow,” Crow said.

“Shin Malphur,” he was at least polite about. Or he hoped he was. By Wolf’s narrowed eyes it sounded more like a threat. Well good.

“Get. We can talk when I’m done here,” Wolf said. Shin almost didn’t but he was pretty sure Wolf was mad enough to shoot him and he didn’t fancy getting his brains blown out in front of some strange Lightbearer for the Spider. So he wisely backed off. Not too far. Just to the hallway. He could hear their voices but not really what they were saying.

He leaned against the curved wall of the hallway, arms folded, and waited for Wolf to finish up with Crow. Whatever that meant. He didn’t think about what it could have meant. It’d just make him mad. And Wolf was already pissed at him. He didn’t need to make it worse by arguing with her.

After another ten minutes Wolf left Crow’s workshop. He heard their cheerful farewells and waited for Wolf to show up. He didn’t have to wait long. She was wearing her helmet and before Shin could say a word she grabbed him by the front of his cloak’s muffler, yanked him forward and then they weren’t in Spider’s lair. Wolf’s Ghost had transmatted them to Wolf’s ship.

Wolf released him roughly and yanked her helmet off. “What the fuck!” Wolf cried as soon as she saw him. “Where the fuck have you been? What the fuck is the matter with you?”

“What?”

“You didn’t have to be an absolute asshole to Crow like that.”

“I said like four words to him,” Shin said.

“With your hand on your gun,” she was seething. He had? He hadn’t even noticed. “What is your issue?”

“There’s a list, you want the long one, or the short one?” Shin bit back sarcastically. “You two just seemed... chummy,” he shrugged.

She stared at him. Then she laughed. It was a mean laugh. “Fuck you,” she said. “You drop off the face of the system for two months and come back and think you get to be _jealous_? Hilarious,” she said coldly. “Two months, mind you, after you leave me with this huge secret of yours you fucking hypocrite.” Shin grimaced. Yeah, he had done that.

“To be fair, I didn’t mean to be gone for two months. It was... a bit out of my control,” he admitted lamely.

“Shin, I kill Gods, Dregs, and everything in between. _That_ is out of my control. What is your excuse?”

Well the truth wasn’t going to be any worse than a lie he supposed. She already knew he was a bastard. “I was in a Pyramid,” he said simply. “That’s why I didn’t respond to your messages.”

She squinted at him. “For two months? There’s nothing in those things. I’ve been in one, I know. Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not,” Shin said. “I was in one.”

She didn’t believe him. She huffed an angry sigh, “If you aren’t going to tell me then we have nothing else to talk about.”

Shin appeared back in Thieves Landing less gracefully than previously. Her Ghost had transmatted him half a foot above the ground and the surprise transmat made him lose his footing. He ended up falling on his ass. Her damn Ghost must have been so proud of itself if it knew it’d tripped him.

“Well, that could have gone better,” Shin said to himself. At least he was alone at the LZ, the argumentative fireteam gone, so no one had seen him fall on his ass.

“She was pretty mad,” his Ghost said.

“I deserved that,” Shin sighed and got to his feet. He dusted off his backside and his cloak. “Expected too much.”

“So... now what?”

Shin just headed back for Spider’s lair. His Ghost quickly caught up and hid in one of the not Ghost-proof pouches on his person. If Spider was surprised to see him come in the same way twice he didn’t show it. He did watch Shin go down the hall again though.

Crow was at his work bench fiddling with a large mechanism that looked almost like a harpoon. It was an awkward shaped device made of Fallen tech. When he heard footsteps he turned around, expecting Wolf, his face dropped to nervousness when he saw it was Shin.

“Hey,” Shin said. “Sorry, we got off on the wrong foot.” He approached Crow and held out his hand, “I’m Shin. It was Crow, right?”

Crow was taken aback but then grabbed his hand, shaking it before letting go. “Yeah. You’re Wolf’s friend?”

“Against her better judgement,” he said. Crow stared at him. “That was a joke.”

“Oh!” Crow still didn’t know how to take Shin just showing up. “She seemed really upset when she left. She okay?”

“I just did something to piss her off,” he shrugged. “Just another day. You’re a new Light, right?”

“I guess you’d say that,” Crow said awkwardly.

Shin looked him over. “What you so nervous about?”

“Ah— I’ll be honest. Other than Wolf I don’t have a lot of conversations with other Lightbearers,” he said. “Just a lot of Eliksni.”

“She helping you out here?”

“Yeah,” Crow nodded.

“Why you not at the Tower? I mean other than Spider seems to like you a whole lot,” he nodded at the Spider’s emblem on his chest.

“Ah, yeah. It’s... complicated. But for the time being I work for Spider.” Crow shrugged. “It’s not bad work. And I got to meet Wolf so that’s the best part so far.” Shin did not like the way Crow said that. It was stupid to feel threatened by it but he was.

“What’s she helping you with?” Shin asked casually.

“What do you know about Hive Gods?”

“I know she’s killed three of them,” Shin said candidly. Well she apparently hadn’t told Crow that because his yellow eyes got HUGE.

“She did?” Crow’s Ghost appeared over his shoulder.

“Yeah. That’s about as much as I know about Hive God. Wolf’s good at real deathing them.” Crow was still too stunned by learning that to say anything. “Guess she didn’t say anything about that, huh?”

“No,” Crow said, still stunned.

“Surprised your little light didn’t tell you,” he motioned to Crow’s Ghost. There was something... off about it. It was hanging back. “Every Ghost in the system knows about Wolf and kicking themselves they didn’t get to res her,” he chuckled.

Crow looked at his Ghost and his Ghost gave a little shrug like ‘he’s not wrong’. “You know that?” Crow whispered to his Ghost. It didn’t do much when he was so close to Shin.

“I didn’t think it was important right now,” his Ghost whispered back. “We’ve got to worry about the Celebrant-

“Oh! Right. That’s what Wolf is helping me with,” Crow said. Shin listened to his shpeal about the Wrathborn and their leader, Xivu Arath’s Celebrant. Shin was sure Wolf had Xivu Arath’s number as soon as she showed her ugly Hive mug in the system. Wolf was helping Crow hunt down the Wrathborn using this lure thing he’d constructed out of discarded Fallen tech but using some sort of Hive magic to draw the Wrathborn to it. Shin didn’t like it.

“That was where she went, hunting something out in the Dreaming City,” Crow sighed.

“Do you normally run ops with her?” Shin asked.

“Sometimes,” he said. “She said it’d be bad if I went to the Dreaming City.”

“Why?”

Crow shrugged. “Not sure. Pretty sure Spider doesn’t want me anywhere near that place either. So we’re keeping clear for now.”

Okay. Weird. Shin was pretty sure the Dreaming City was the one place an Awoken should be. But he was sure Wolf and Spider had a good reason to keep him away. “So if Wolf has your lure, what’s that?” Shin nodded at the one on Crow’s table.

“Oh, that’s an extra. In case it breaks,” Crow grimaced.

“Can I take it?”

“What?” Crow gave himself whiplash from looking at the lure back to Shin.

“Wolf’s good, but she’s one gun. She could stand to take some help now and then,” Shin huffed.

“I— I guess so,” Crow said. “I didn’t think anyone but Wolf would be interested in helping.”

“I’m sure there are plenty of Guardians who want to give Xivu Arath a hard time. So I assume there’s another reason she hasn’t enlisted the help of the Vanguard or the other Guardians,” Shin said. Crow fidgeted. Ah. There was something. Well no use traumatizing the kid getting it out of him. “So how’s this thing work?” He stepped over to the lure. Crow was glad the line of questioning was off him and on the lure. He explained it to Shin and it sounded like a lot of work to charge up. Like unnecessarily a lot of work. He’d do it but this wasn’t like a harpoon he’d originally thought it was.

“Crow, I don’t mean to critique your work but what the fuck?”

“Uh?” Crow’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“How long you been alive?”

“Uh,” he looked at his Ghost for confirmation.

“A little over two years,” his Ghost said.

“And you know how to use the Light?”

“Yes... mostly,” Crow grimaced. “I’m the only Lightbearer in Spider’s... pay roll,” he said it like it wasn’t indentured servitude. Shin had gotten a look at his Ghost finally. Spider had strapped a bomb to it. Shin didn’t know Crow that well and that annoyed him. He was sure Wolf was furious about it.

“Because if you’re hunting things of the Dark there’s one thing they love more than anything else,” he held out his hand, a fat mote of Light formed in his hand. Crow’s eyes widened. “The Light,” and he took off one of the canisters, shoved the mote into it and put it back in and turned the lure on. It immediatly kicked on and started to resonate, swirling with a fine green-white mist.

“Wow,” Crow said. “You... can do that?”

“The Light’s not like a ray of light, it’s part of you, inside of you, physical, you want to do that you just have to take it out,” he formed another mote.

“Oh,” Crow had never thought of it like that.

“At least that’s how I see it. Ask a Warlock and they’ll tell you something different. Most Hunters feel the Light the same. Wolf not help you with your Light?” That didn’t seem right with how chummy she was with him, showing him how to swap weapon parts or exchange weapon mods.

“It hasn’t come up.” Code for Crow hadn’t told her. “I’ve been figuring it out for myself.”

Shin sucked his teeth in annoyance. “Right. Well let me take this lure and see what I catch?”

“Yeah, sure,” Crow said. “Should I— tell Wolf you came back? She didn’t seem happy to see you.”

“Yeah, tell her,” so she’d see Shin wasn’t being an asshole. That he could be nice to her new... whatever Crow was. Play thing? Seventh member of Glitterbomb (he already had a name to match them all)? Project seemed the best descriptor for now. He picked the lure up. “I assume Spider wouldn’t want me walking with this?”

“Probably better he doesn’t see,” Crow agreed.

“Great. I’ll be back when I got something to show for it. Work on your Light,” and Shin’s Ghost transmatted him away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk what you expected to happen Shin????


	3. you can rent the space inside my mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I very specifically don’t give the Young Wolf a name in my stories bc she’s no one, or rather, she’s everyone’s Guardian. At least if you play a female Hunter. So you can decide her name is whatever you want (人´∀｀)．☆．。．:*･ﾟ

Shin had had to fiddle with the lure a bit more to get it to work the first time but the hunt was pretty straight forward once he got it working. Stick the lure around one of the Wrathborn’s sites and just wait.

He hadn’t had to wait long. Then he’d tracked it back to its lair and finished it off. Crow had thankfully given him the heads up that what came to the lure was itself the lure and once it absorbed whatever was in the lure that would draw out the actual Wrathborn.

Three Golden Gun shots to the head had dropped the oversized vandal without an issue. “Damn, what’s this thing been eating?” Shin asked, going over to the corpse. He’d seen big vandals before. But this thing was almost as big as some big captains.

“Well they get bigger with ether,” his Ghost said.

“Lower food chain Fallen don’t,” he said. “You ever see a dreg this big?”

“No,” was the admittance.

“Hmmm, Crow did mention bringing back something. Feels weird collecting a trophy.”

“You’re the only Guardian who thinks its weird making gear from your enemies.”

“Must be the mortal life in me,” Shin said which shut his Ghost up. Real Guardians had very little concern for the alien lives they took sometimes. Shin didn’t either. But he at least didn’t go around wearing a Hive’s skin for armor. It made him feel a certain way. No, metal and leather was good enough for him.

He still thought Wolf looked good in it though.

He made a face for himself. So not the time for thoughts like that. He was on the shit list.

Finally he just took the vandal’s helmet. Better than a body part. And it’d be proof enough to Crow the vandal he’d killed was indeed dead.

“Okay, get us out of here,” Shin said, standing up. The helmet disappeared from his hands and then so did he.

—

He found Crow back in his little work room, talking to himself and his Ghost quietly, fiddling with gun parts at a work table. Yeah, gun mods were a pain in the ass. Still, two years old? Basic baby Guardian shit was learning to mod your weapon.

“What’cha doing?” Shin asked, standing over his shoulder, startling Crow who hadn’t heard his approach. He chuckled.

“Shin— oh,” he let out a breath of relief it was just Shin. “How’d your hunt go?”

Shin held out his hand, his Ghost transmatted the helmet into it. “They had to go, unfortunately,” he said.

Crow frowned. “Damn,” he took the helmet. “Well it just means one less Wrathborn in the world at least,” he gave a strained smile.

Shin leaned against the work table. “You trying to help them?”

“It isn’t their fault they’re like that,” Crow said empathetically. “It’s the Celebrant. It corrupted them. Some of them... I knew them.”

Knew them? Well that made some sense Crow did work for Spider. “I’m sorry,” Shin said. “It ain’t always easy doing the right thing.”

Crow sighed. “Yeah. Wolf’s said that too. That there’s nothing left in them but the corruption.”

“I hate to have to tell you but she’s probably right. She’s seen the Dark, Light, and everything in between. If she says they’re beyond saving then they probably are.”

“Do you think so?”

Shin grimaced in his helmet. “I’m not... the best judge of those things,” he said. Two months ago he woud have said yes but now he’d just be a liar if he did. “But I trust Wolf’s judgement implicitly.”

“Alright. I guess two older Lightbearers know what’s what,” Crow sighed. Then he looked up at Shin, “You’re Wolf’s friend, right?”

“On good days, yeah?” Shin shrugged.

“Do you know her name?”

For a second Shin panicked. Did he? Then it came to him. Right. Yes of course it was that. “I do. Why?”

“What is it? She’s never told me.”

“Don’t take it personally. She doesn’t tell a lot of people. She prefers people call her Wolf.”

“Why? And why Wolf?”

Shin looked at Crow’s Ghost hovering just over his shoulder. “You didn’t tell him anything?” Shin asked it.

“I thought it’d be better,” he said.

“Ugh, useless ass Ghosts,” Shin huffed.

“What’d Glint not tell me?” Crow asked.

“Apparently everything. Long term history I get but we’re living in a history making time right now. Gods getting killed, dragons slain for the first time in centuries, the Darkness actually being more than a casual threat. You’re doing a bad job,” he pointed accusingly at Glint. “A disservice to your Guardian,” he guessed Crow was a Guardian? What else did you call them? Lightbearer? Sounded so impersonal. “Every other Guardian in the Tower knows what’s happened the past decade or so. And you just kept him in the dark?”

“Well... are you going to tell me?” Crow asked.

Shin was annoyed. “How short’s Spider’s leash on you?”

“I can mostly come and go as I please. If I don’t report in every twelve hours though—“ he glanced at Glint. Right, twelve hours or Spider blew his Ghost up. What an asshole.

“I don’t need or want Spider listening,” he said which was cue for his Ghost to transmat. Crow looked surprised by the sudden transmat onto Shin’s ship. “Do not tell Wolf I did this. I don’t need the lecture,” he said as he pulled off his helmet.

“Are you doing something bad?”

“She just gets all moody when people recount her accomplishments. Way too humble sometimes— you good Crow?” Crow was staring at him as he pushed his too long hair out of his face. He needed to get that cut.

“Ah- yeah, it’s nothing,” he said awkwardly and looked away.

Shin pulled down the fold up table from the ceiling. He hadn’t used it in a few decades. Not since Shiro-3 became Shiro-4. Then it had been exclusively used to play cards. A set of chairs followed. “Sit,” he ordered and Crow sat obediently. “You drink?”

“Drink what?”

Shin looked at him, “You don’t want it, trust me,” but he still took one of his flasks out of a cubby and sat down. If he was going to give Crow a history lesson he was going to need a drink. Wolf also probably wouldn’t be amused if he got Crow drunk. He sat opposite Crow. “So Wolf’s had a bunch of different names, Wolf’s stuck around the longest. It’s the easiest to say.”

“But what’s her real name?”

“I’m not going to tell you.”

Crown frowned. “I bet you don’t even know,” he said.

“I do. But it’s her name. It’s her decision on who gets to use it,” Shin unscrewed his flask and took a sip. It was very nearly paint thinner. Anything less didn’t work on Lightbearers, the Light just burned it up in moments. He knew some Guardians liked the taste though so drank for the taste. Shin actually wanted a drink. “I know it, don’t use it, because I know she doesn’t want Guardians who ain’t got any business using her name putting it in their mouths like it belongs there. Not even Glitterbomb uses Wolf’s real name.”

“So... no one uses it?”

“Nope,” Shin said. “Ikora might, if they’re talking in private. Ikora is the Warlock Vanguard,” he elaborated for Crow’s confusion. “Not even our Vanguard ever used it, but he had fifteen different nicknames for Wolf depending on the day of the week and his mood,” he rolled his eyes. Cayde had very specific nicknames for his favorite Guardians. Shin hadn’t been one of them.

“So how’d she get Wolf?”

Shin leaned back in his chair and took another sip of the ethanol. “Well to explain that I first gotta explain the Iron Lords. So buckle up, it’s a long story.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is where the ‘everyone adopts Crow eventually’ tag comes in ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	4. she tells me just to work right through it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s Sad Boy Shin Hours in the house tonight :,)

Shin was waiting on a rise overlooking the part of the Shore where the Dreadnaught had crashed into it. It had come a long way to become detritus out here and the Hive weren’t letting it go to waste. He wasn’t worried about the Hive. He was on high watching his lure. This one was taking a while to show up. Maybe because there were more Guardians around in the area, running patrols, culling the Hive. The Hive forces in the area had more important things to do than be drawn by a some Light on a stick.

His radar pinged someone coming up behind him. He put his hand on his gun at his hip and turned, ready to draw. He relaxed his grip seeing the familiar armor of Wolf, her cloak ruffled in the strange wind that always swept through the Tangled Shore. “Hey,” he said when she didn’t say anything.

“What are you doing?”

“Uh... what’s it look like?”

“Don’t be annoying Shin. What are you doing?”

She didn’t mean the Lure hunt. She knew damn well what Shin was doing there. She meant why. “Well I thought it’d get me off the shit list enough for you to talk to me if I helped your little bird out,” he said, sarcastic but truthful all the same.

She cocked her head at him and to his surprise she came over and popped a squat next to him looking down into the ravine where he’d planted the lure. “You’re still on the shit list,” she said.

“I really was in a Pyramid,” Shin said. Her silence meant she didn’t believe him. “If you don’t believe me would you believe my Ghost?” He pulled the Ghost out from where it was in a soft pouch on his hip. “Tell her.”

His Ghost looked at him with a sort of ‘you want me to talk to people’ look in his eyes. Shin made an aggressive motion towards him. Yes damnit! He did! If Shin could learn to talk to people sure as shit his Ghost could.

His Ghost looked at Wolf who by her body language looked interested but reserved that Shin’s Ghost would talk to her. He never talked to anyone else. Other than Wolf’s Ghost two months ago his Ghost hadn’t said a word to anyone but Shin in over a century. “He left me on his ship and was gone, completely, for two months,” his Ghost said.

Wolf leaned back in surprise. “He wasn’t on his ship for two months, out of contact with you?”

“Yes. I don’t know where he went but if he says he was in the Pyramid on Europa I believe him,” his Ghost said. Thank the Traveler! “And he might be a liar but I’m not.”

“Okay that’s enough,” and Shin grabbed his Ghost and shoved him back into the soft pouch.

“Why’d you leave your Ghost?” Wolf asked.

“Because as much as he annoys me I’d rather he not get killed. I didn’t know what to expect in there. But I knew it was no place for the Light. I don’t know how much him being there would have— helped me,” he said slowly.

“Helped you?”

He heard gunfire nearby and looked to make sure it wasn’t near his lure. Still nothing. Good. Shin sighed and leaned on one thigh. “You were right; as usual,” he added and saw the smug little head cock from her at that. It was more endearing than it was annoying. “I went to the Pyramid to try and... I dunno, figure something out. It took me two months but,” he held his hand out and produced a mote of Dark in his palm. “Not as flashy as Stasis but-“ he shrugged helplessly and closed his hand around it again.

“Oh,” she said softly. “Did the Darkness talk to you?”

“I don’t really remember,” he admitted. “It didn’t feel like two months in there.”

“How long it feel for you?”

“Few days? Maybe? I admit I don’t have the best memory of being in there. The Pyramid warps things. You know that. It makes you see or hear or experience whatever it wants you to. When I stepped back out onto the snow I could only remember half of it, by the time I got back to my ship I remembered even less. All that’s stayed is the Darkness against my Light.”

Wolf didn’t say anything for a while. “And how’s that change your opinion on Glitterbomb taking Stasis, or other Guardians being drawn to the Dark?”

“It’s still a stupid, wreckless, foolish thing,” he huffed. She laughed. “But... my Ghost said I was an antique,” he sighed. “A hunter of rouge Guardians when the Darkness isn’t even enough to make you rouge anymore. When Guardians can use it. Feels bad,” he looked across the Shore.

“To be fair, there will probably still be Guardians or otherwise who reach too deeply to the Dark and need to be hunted down, or brought to justice like Toland should have been,” Wolf said. Shin grit his teeth. Toland had been on his kill list for decades but he’d too cloistered, too protected in the Tower. You coudn’t just go into the Tower and real death a powerful Warlock like Toland. Shin couldn’t help but think sometimes that if he’d found a way to get rid of Toland then that ill fated raid on the Moon might not have happened. That Eris wouldn’t be as she was. That Toland wouldn’t have been allowed to lead a bunch of Guardians driven by the need for revenge into the Hellmouth and get their Light cleaved from their bodies and fed to the Hive. Toland was the one that got away and it grated on Shin like nothing else.

“Fuck Toland, honestly,” Shin grumbled. “Hated that guy.”

“Seriously,” Wolf agreed. “He was so pissy when we just left Oryx’s throne world you know? Tailed us all the way out of the Ascendent plane saying we couldn’t just leave, that we had to take the mantle, that someone did. I hear he’s bothering Guardians on the Moon now. Moaning about us not seeing shit right. I see it fine. My bullet goes between the eyes of the Hive trying to kill me; end of discussion.”

Shin chuckled and felt a touch warmer than usual. “Or right through the third one?”

“Or that! Fucking Hive. Hate them. Wish Oryx’s stupid ass sister would just show up so I could kill her too,” Wolf said, testy. It was amusing watching her get so riled up about a Hive God she didn’t know and had never seen. “You’re distracting me,” she said.

“Me? No,” Shin grinned under his helmet.

“What are you going to do now?” Shin shrugged. “Really?”

“I’ve done... a lot of bad stuff,” Shin said. “Stuff you don’t know about. Stuff that’s so old most of the people who knew about it are dead now-

“You killed them,” she corrected him. He flinched.

“I did,” he agreed softly. “But I really liked hanging out with you and Glitterbomb before you went and blew up the Deep Stone Crypt. Don’t usually have people excited when I shoot shit-

“Except Shaxx and Drifter,” she said helpfully.

“Shaxx just likes explosions and Drifter’s a lunatic,” and another loose end. But Shin was going to let it go. They were quiet for a short while. He looked her. “I’m sorry. For being the way I was when you were learning to control Stasis, preachy I think you called it?”

“Hypocritical,” she said blandly.

“Yeah, that too,” he sighed. “I really don’t know if I can or want to be that guy anymore. Feels... out of touch. More Guardians learning to control Stasis, I can do... that,” he didn’t have a name for it yet. He hadn’t wanted to think about it. “Unless someone really goes over to the Dark side, or you know, tries to fuck around with the Hive I don’t think a Ghost Killer is really someone Lightbearers need right now.”

“Probably not. But if we do you’re the guy I’m going to call.”

“I was thinking about it while I was in the Pyramid. It was really fucked up how I became a Guardian.” Wolf didn’t say anything. His Becoming was legend. It sucked. “I woke up and went and found Jaren. His head had been exploded, the Light drained out of him by Yor. And I was insane with the need for vengeance. I was willing to do anything. I was going to kill myself hunting Yor down to get revenge, for Jaren, and for killing everyone else I’d ever known.” He was quiet again. This was why he and his Ghost had never gotten along. Maybe a bit in the beginning but the resentment had been building for centuries.

“Then Jaren’s Ghost made you a Guardian?” Wolf asked softly.

“Heh. Yeah. Asked if I wanted to continue Jaren’s legacy. I thought he meant the gun. Next thing I know I got fire in my veins. No death. Just the Light. That’s the most fucked up part.

“Guardians get to start over when they’re reborn. It’s a petty thing to be mad about after all this time but I didn’t. Heh. Never got to be anything but that shitty mad mortal on a vengeance streak.”

He and Wolf said nothing for a long while. He didn’t begrudge her. That was a hell of a thing to tell someone. “I never thought of it like that,” she said.

“Remembering who you were before you were a Guardian sucks,” he said, looking down at his lure. “It’s easy for the rest of you. Go out, kill shit, throw yourself off insane heights. Broke your legs? Eh it’s fine the Ghost will fix it. Bullet to the skull in a Crucible match? It’s just a game. You don’t remember the fear of being able to die, for real. That’s why I think some of us go crazy, jump head first into the Dark. No fear. People weren’t meant to live like that.”

“Lightless weren’t,” she agreed. “Guess you got a little crazy yourself?”

“Maybe,” he said softly.

“Well you can always start over. No one actually knows Shin Malphur that well. A story, a song, a rumor, that’s all they know. You could start over.”

Shin frowned in his helmet. He’d also tried doing that. Vale had been a bad idea. Super bad idea. Wolf didn’t need to know about Vale.

Sensors in his helmet went off and he looked down. A scorn chieftain was sniffing around the lure, there was a magic quality to him. Shin got up. “Want to help me with this?” Shin asked her.

Her body language was genuinely surprised. “You usually work alone,” she said.

“I did.”

“Ah, do over starting now?”

“Might as well.”

“Sure,” and a notice pinged in his helmet. His Ghost, even tucked away, connected it. Took Shin a second to realize that was a fireteam link. He hadn’t fireteamed with anyone in literally over a century. Not ‘offically’. Worked with people maybe but he preferred his comms private, or open public.

“Well let’s go say hello,” Wolf said and he could imagine her reckless grin before jumping down from the cliff, her shotgun out with some buckshot with the chieftain’s name on it. Shin looked after her. This was exactly what Shin was talking about what Guardians did. Normally he’d take a slightly slower route down. But fuck it. He was acting like a real Guardian now.

He jumped down after her.


	5. but little do they know that she’s not through

Shin played with a mote while waiting for Wolf to get done talking to Spider. His Ghost was being a busy body and listening in on their conversation from the rafters. Shin honestly didn’t really care what they were talking about. He was just there to keep an eye on his Ghost, make sure Spider didn’t get any ideas.

He could tell by the set of Wolf’s shoulders that she was a hair’s breadth away from shooting Spider in his smug head. He knew Wolf was very protective of Crow. He was also of the same opinion of Wolf that if given the chance he’d probably shoot Spider too for putting a bomb on Glint. Crow had grown on him but he wasn’t as invested in the kid as Wolf was (for some reason. He didn’t know why she was so in on this one baby Lightbearer) but it still pissed him off what Spider was putting him and his Ghost through.

Then the conversation was over. Wolf turned around and left Spider’s lair. Shin absorbed the mote and peeled off the bulk head wall and followed after her. His Ghost bobbed at his side a moment before flickering down into a safe pouch, out of the way. “So how’d it go?”

“I got what I wanted,” was all she said as they left the lair.

“Which is?”

“Spider wants Xivu Arath’s Celebrant to stop meddling with his Shore. He offered me anything in his collection.”

In an attempt to lighten her bad mood Shin said, “You should get that replica of the Gjallarhorn since the Cabal blew yours up.” Shin couldn’t see her face but when Wolf whipped around and fixed him with a look through her helmet he could feel it in his soul. “Or not,” he said. Okay not a time for jokes.

“I’m sending the coordinates to your Ghost. Come if you want. I’m killing the Celebrant today,” she said, all business, and then transmatted out.

His Ghost floated up next to him. “She’s really cool,” he said, charmed.

“Yeah— hey, stop that,” he batted at his Ghost in annoyance. His Ghost just chuckled and transmatted them to his ship. “You have where we’re going?”

“Already put it into the navigation system” his Ghost said helpfully. Shin went and sat in the cockpit. Sensors showed a new ion trail from an NLS drive pointed deeper into the Reef. Wolf. Shin disengaged the autopilot. Autopilot didn’t know how to get into the Dreaming City. You had to bring your ship in manually. It was a rough ride even for a skilled pilot too. At least if you were human. Awoken could see the disturbances in the space, or something. He didn’t question the wild shit Awoken said, he just took it at face value.

The curse was low in the Dreaming City. Like the Shore there was a formation of ships hovering above the Mists. Guardians dealing with Riven’s curse, trying to untangle the last wish by the dead dragon. It was almost sad that Guardians had to keep putting her out of her misery. “Where’s our LZ?” Shin asked, guiding his ship around until he spotted Wolf’s ship. He stopped it nearby.

“Directly below us. If Wolf wasn’t there already I’d have no anchor,” his Ghost said, confused as to how Wolf had gotten down there without a transmat anchor. Shin knew better than to question how Wolf did anything.

Shin appeared next to Wolf who had her head cocked, listening to someone talking to her in her helmet. As soon as she saw him his helmet pinged to share fireteam comms. He heard the tail end of Crow saying something. “I thought you and Spider didn’t want him in the Dreaming City,” Shin said as he followed Wolf into a majestic cathedral of a building.

“It’s his hunt,” she said. “He earned the right to do the tracking.”

“And the kill?”

“Well he didn’t call me for no reason,” she said. “I make sure things stay dead.” Shin didn’t argue that.

There were Hive scattered in the cathedral. The two of them made short work of them. Crow kept them updated on where the Celebrant was, how to lure it out. Eventually they came to a large, vaulted, chamber. There was a whole cyrptolyth down on one end. “I assume that’s what we’re looking for,” Shin nodded at it, drawing Wolf’s attention from her shooting an acolyte in the head.

“Bingo,” and she went over. As she did her Ghost transmatted the lure into her hands. “Hope this works,” he heard her mutter over comms. Shin just reloaded his gun.

He felt the Hive magic sing in his bones when the cyptolyth flared up with hideous green fire. A gigantic knight stepped out. “You think they’d at least dress up when the Bane of Oryx shows up,” Shin said sarcastically.

“It’s his sister’s knight, like it gives a shit about the little brother,” Wolf said and Shin laughed. Both at the comment and the absurdity of it. The Celebrant appeared across the hall from him. Shin just opened fire with the Last Word. He jumped in surprise when Wolf shot a wild volley of rockets at it. What in the name of the Traveler was that!? He looked over and saw she had some square tubed rocket launcher.

But that made the Celebrant mad. Shin would think so. He’d be pretty peeved if he got a rocket to the face too. In a shimmer of green fire it fled, leaving behind Ascendant residue.

Crow spoke over the comms, urging them to follow. He wasn’t sure how.

He clearly didn’t hunt Ascendant Hive nearly enough. Wolf just shot at the Ascendant residue until it collapsed and a hole in reality opened. “We going in there I assume?” Shin said.

“Yeap. Let’s go,” and she stepped through. Shin stood outside the portal for a second. It looked not unlike a Gambit invasion portal. He could do that. It was still different than that. He stepped through.

Wolf was on the rock looking out over the floating rocks in the dark. Shin looked around. He’d never been in the Ascendant Plane properly. Pockets and parts maybe. Most Guardians had by now, just from doing work in the Dreaming City. But this was open area.

“Do you see the trail?” Crow asked over comms.

“I dunno how you see anything in this soup,” Shin said.

“I got it,” Wolf said. “C’mon,” she motioned and took a running jump over the void to another floating rock.

He fucking hated being a Guardian sometimes. He holstered the Last Word and took a running leap after her, landing hard, too much forward momentum out of fear of falling. Wolf had no fear. She was already running ahead, jumping to the next rock. He heard her gun go off, spitting out bullets, and the sigh of a Fallen’s ether canister popping, head blown off.

Shin had to sprint to catch up. He didn’t want to get lost or left behind in this place.

They were in and out of the Ascendant Plane, tracking the Celebrant all across the Dreaming City’s beautiful tower landscapes and empty vaulted hallways. Every time it always gave them the slip. Until Shin helped Wolf get a door open and it was there, waiting for them. They scattered as a shot almost blew them to bits.

“I thought the lure was supposed to bring it to us,” Shin complained as he got his feet back under him from a roll.

“It’s supposed to,” Wolf said. “It’s almost out of charge. Damn.”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means we won’t be able to track it anymore with it.”

“Just keep it in this reality so it doesn’t come to that,” Crow said.

“Right,” Shin sighed and followed Wolf out of the building. The Celebrant stood at the end of a pier made of marble and amethyst down the curved stairs wreathed in green Hive fire. Waiting for them. Well this felt a lot like a trap.

Wolf was so focused on the kill she didn’t notice. She jumped down from the top of the stairs and ran at the Celebrant, fireing her gun the entire time. “Watch out,” was all Shin had time to say before the Celebrant vanished in fire. In its place it had brought an Ogre.

“Get the fuck out of my way!” Wolf yelled over comms. Then she had a literally ice pick in her hand. What the fuck? Then she threw it. Shin vaulted over the stair railing in time for the ogre to be swept up in a huge ice storm and frozen solid. Shin’s eyes widened. He’d never seen Stasis in action. “Stupid ass ogre,” Wolf hissed as it collapsed into dust and Hive muck. Her Ghost transmatted the lure from its last position to her hands. “Damnit! It’s empty,” she let out a useless noise of rage.

“We’ll get it,” Shin said.

“I’m tracking it,” Crow’s voice came over the comms.

“What? Crow, where are you?” Wolf looked around.

“I’m tracking it,” he said and Shin didn’t imagine the slight tremor in his voice.

“Kid, get out of the Ascendant Realm,” Wolf said.

“Too late. I got this. I’ll let you kn-“ his comm cut out.

“Crow?” Wolf asked. “Crow- Fuck,” she hissed. “Fuck fuck fuck,” she started pacing.

“Is it bad he’s in there?”

She looked at him on her pacing. “He can handle himself against most enemies. But this is Xivu Arath’s High Celebrant. Fuck, how do we get in there?”

Shin cocked his head at her. “That’s not all,” he said. “I’m sure we could figure out how to get in there but you’re panicked. What’s the matter?”

“I don’t want her to know he’s here,” she said.

“Who?”

She waved him off. “It’s a long story. Don’t have time to tell it now.”

“It have to do with the curse?”

“Indirectly.”

“Riven?”

“No. Now stop asking me stupid questions. We need to get into the Ascendant Realm.”

Shin picked the lure up from where Wolf had left it in her anger. The canister they’d been using to hunt the Celebrant was dim, shadowed. It only just sparked softly with Hive magic. But it felt familiar. “I have an idea,” he said.

Wolf stopped pacing and looked at him. He unscrewed the canister. “What are you doing?”

“Shush. Gimme a sec here,” and he squeezed one eye closed trying to get things to move around inside himself. He never really tried to use the fire, at least not while he was topped off with the Light. It usually just treated the Light like pure oxygen and consumed it so he was careful to keep it bottled up.

It was different now. He hadn’t really tried to use it since he’d come out of the Pyramid. “Huh, that’s different,” he said to himself. It wasn’t the fire he was expecting. It was almost nothing, an impossible to see thing like a strand of hair in the light, a piece of dew clinging to a spider silk thread. But unlike Wolf’s Stasis which was a bright and crisp shard of Darkness this still almost felt like corruption. The type of stuff Hive used. He knew at once, just from looking at, that with a proper shape it’d become a grenade of some sort. Super weird. He dropped the little nothing of Darkness into the canister and socketed it back into the lure.

“What did you do?” Wolf asked as the lure started to chug the noxious green smoke it produced when active.

“My Darkness isn’t like yours,” was all he said. “We should be able to use this to follow the Celebrant.” He handed the lure off. “Though at the rate of the burn it might not last long.”

“Right,” her Ghost appeared next to her and he was sure they were having a private conversation as she went to find a place to stick the lure. Then she stopped and stood very still. “I see a portal up there, it’s reacting to the lure,” she said. “We need to get up there now,” Wolf said, voice quiet and serious.

“What’s the matter now?”

Wolf stuck the lure down near the already rotted corpse of the ogre. “Crow just sent me a recorded message. And I’m going to kill that kid if he got himself killed in there.”

Shin looked around the area. He came up to her side and nudged her shoulder. “Look familiar?” he nodded at something just out of sight. Platforms. The Celebrant hadn’t quite teleported, it had just gone invisible and climbed some stairs.

“Let’s go, before something happens,” and Wolf was bounding up along the glass invisible platforms. Shin followed. Where his feet touched solid ground appeared and atop them he could see a flicker of the edges. He really hated Awoken and Hive magic. He had to go fast to keep up with Wolf and he was still behind as she fearlessly jumped through the portal into the Ascendant Realm.

“She’s going to get me killed,” Shin muttered to himself even as he jumped in after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this house we don’t trust Mara Sov.


	6. its not my fault its just my style

Navigating this part of the Ascendant Realm was like a maze. Except the maze was just floating boulders out over the voice. The only indication they knew they were going the right way was a splash of residue from the Celebrant.

“I see it,” Wolf said, standing on a cliff over nothingness.

“See what?” Shin squinted in the gloom. He couldn’t see shit in this place.

“Look. There’s light there,” she pointed across a wide expanse and there was a courtyard surrounded by pillars not unlike the Dreaming City. Light poured from it, garish against the dull colors and muted light of the Ascendent Realm. “It’s absolutely there.”

“I don’t know enough about Ascendents to argue. Lead the way,” he motioned for her to go first. His stomach still dropped every time she jumped out over the void. There was, of course, nothing for it, Shin had to follow.

“Crow? Crow can you hear us?” Wolf tried not for the first time since they’d come through the portal.

“Wolf?” Crow’s voice came through interference and even over comms he sounded far away. “I thought I said don’t follow me-

“Save us the heroics,” Shin said.

“Where are you? Are you safe?”

“For now-

“The Celebrant almost killed us,” Glint said. Good Ghost. Tell the rescue crew the truth.

“I’m fine—” his voice faded out through interference.

“Where are you?”

“—away.”

Wolf came to a stop at the edge of the void they’d just jumped across. The courtyard was a hundred feet away. The light coming from it made Shin feel sick looking at it. He looked away. “Get back to the portal. Shin and I will take care of the Celebrant,” Wolf said, deciding on the smart thing and having the talk before they went into the firefight.

“I can still help-

“You can help by getting your ass back to our reality and surviving,” Wolf snapped at him. Shin looked around where they’d found this respite. There was an altar with a shroud draped across it. Not Hive made. Awoken make. It had the royal insignia stitched into the hem design. The rest was white.

“What about you two?”

“We’ll be fine. Glint, get his ass out of here.”

“I don’t know how you expect me to do that,” Glint said.

“You’re his Ghost, figure it out,” she said. Then she looked at Shin who was picking at the shroud. “Hey, stop that,” she said, voice calmer.

“Hmm?” Shin looked up, distracted.

“Time to kill a Hive General,” she said. He rarely saw this side of Wolf. Serious. Deadly. All business. Raid to kill a Hive God serious. It was kinda hot honestly.

Shin upholstered the Thorn, he’s burned through all the ammo for his Last Word hunting the Celebrant and dealing with the fodder here in the Ascendant Realm. All that was left were Thorn rounds. “Ready when you are,” he said, pleasant, cheerful even. “Never killed a Hive General before. Should be fun.”

Wolf chuckled grimly, “Fun is the word I’d use,” she said and turned and walked towards the courtyard and the light. Shin followed. He patted the pouch his Ghost was in. He felt it there still. Good. In the oppressive Darkness of the Ascendant Realm he didn’t know how useful a Ghost would be but he was glad he was there. A small connection to the Light even in this terrible place.

The Celebrant was waiting for them, towering, horrible, with an array of acolytes to make their life difficult. Shin took care of a handful of them before they even passed through the curtain of light.

But more just kept coming. Wherever the Celebrant was pulling them from just have an infinite number of acolytes and explosive thrall and shielded knights. And to get to the Celebrant they needed to be touched by the Wrathful energy coming off a seemingly random, corrupted knight.

Eventually Shin ran out of bullets. There was no transmitting more down from his ship here in the Ascendant Realm and these foreign Hive of Xivu Arath’s brood didn’t didn’t have traces of glimmer on them like most things in the system did. There was no making more bullets either from the collected traces.

Shin hunkered behind a rock while acolytes lit up the other side. Wolf was doing the same somewhere else. “I’m out,” he said over comms.

“Like completely out?”

“Like I got two rocket shots but that’s it.”

Wolf said nothing. “I’m also low. Stay low, I’m going to clear out the fodder and hopefully we can lay into him.”

“Okay,” Shin wasn’t sure how she was going to do that. Then he heard a pop and a crack of shattering ice. At once he was cold as a shockwave of frozen air washed over him and everything else in the courtyard. Then he heard the storm. He looked over his rock when the shooting stopped and saw that a Stasis storm was whipping through the courtyard, freezing and smashing everything in its wake. Then Wolf was in the air and smashed into the ground, sending out a shockwave that shattered everything the storm had missed.

That just left the Celebrant.

Shin stepped out from cover and found some of the Wrathful residue. His helmet told him he shouldn’t be standing in this stuff which was all he needed to know. Wolf fired all her rockets at it, drawing its attention. That just made it mad. It roared and stomped over to her, moving faster than expected even as Shin’s rocket hit it in the back of the head. She just stood her ground andkept fireing until she was empty.

“Wolf, get out of there,” he said even as she pulled out another weapon and started shooting it. His second rocket hit the Celebrant in the back as it lifted a mighty hand up. A Sword appeared in it. “Wolf, move!”

Too late. The Sword came down. It caught her in two. But that didn’t stop Wolf from shooting it until she bled out, getting it in the head and eye. The Celebrant roared in pain.

“It’s trying to escape, you need to finish it,” Crow’s voice was clear over comms as the Celebrant sagged, weakened by the prolonged battle and final rocket assault.

“Like hell it is,” Shin growled and reached for the Light. It didn’t come. There was no gun. Well fuck. He reached for whatever came to hand instead. It was an orb like a marble, nearly invisible like the dew drop from before, shiny but unseeable, light from the courtyard bending and twisting around it so it looked like it was ringed in light.

“Well that’s new,” he said to himself but already knew what to do with it. He’d used it before. Figured it out in the Pyramid. It was such an un-Hunter ability too.

Shin lobbed the marble at the Celebrant and immediatly it expanded on contact with the Hive, forming an empty black void about as big as a Warlock’s large Nova Bomb. Shin felt gravity shift and he dug his feet in to not get pulled in too. The Celebrant didn’t have that luxury and half of its body was yanked into the void along with the part already consumed.

Then the void was gone, popping out of existence as it’s hunger was satisfied. The Celebrant’s corpse slumped forward.

“You get it?” Crow asked.

“It’s dead,” Shin said and walked across the courtyard. His hand felt numb now.

“Great! Bring its head back with you, Spider will want proof of a kill.”

“Heh, sure kid,” Shin said and came upon half of Wolf’s body and her Ghost. The other half had been sucked into his super powered... whatever the fuck that was. He switched to local comms. “You going to get her up or what?”

Her Ghost looked at him. It had a new shell since the last time Shin had seen it, a fresh coat of paint too. “I can’t,”he said.

“I’m sorry, I thought you just told me you can’t revive Wolf?”

“There’s no Light in here,” he said.

Shin gave it an annoyed look through his helmet. “She’s got Light in her,” he huffed.

“Not right now. She was using Stasis. Between that and the Ascendant Realm there’s no Light.”

“So... options?”

“Usually if one of Glitterbomb dies in here they’d carry the body out so they could be revived outside.”

His Ghost popped out from its pouch. “You could revive her with the Dark.”

“Don’t say something so stupid, I’m a Ghost,” his shell bent in a way that could only be construed as annoyed.

His Ghost looked at Shin, “Yeah but he’s also running with Dark.”

The Ghosts looked at each other. “I... suppose that could work. I’ve never tried it before with a mote of Dark before.”

“I got those,” Shin produced a black mote in his hand. “Can’t do Light right now, should have thought of that.”

“She wouldn’t react to the Light anyway,” her Ghost said.

He offered the dark mote the same as he’d offer a light one to help a Ghost revive a fallen teammate in Gambit quicker than Drifter normally allowed. It fizzled out in his hand, the Ghost doing whatever it needed to trigger a revival. “Sorry I messed up. I need another one,” her Ghost said when nothing happened.

“Sure, I got plenty,” he produced another. He’d make ‘em all day so long as he didn’t have to carry Wolf’s dead body out of here. Say nothing to the fact it’d probably traumatize Crow seeing Wolf could actually be beat.

The Ghost messed up a few more times. Shin ended up just sitting down. He was tired. This hunt, in this place, had exhausted him. Shin just kept a mote around while her Ghost tried to figure out how to use it to bring her back. “There even enough organic material around to bring back the rest of her?” Shin offered as a suggestion as to why it wasn’t working.

“It’s enough. I’ve done more with less.” Right. He’d seen a Guardian be brought back from just an eyeball before after they’d been rocketed in a Gambit game. That had been so weird.

“How the fuck we going to get its head back to Spider?” Shin muttered to himself while he waited. They’d have to rip it off somehow. And carry it back? It was enormous. The Ghosts might be able to leap frog it with short range transmats, using each other as anchors. That could work.

He looked down when there was a flicker of blinding dark light. Then Wolf sat up. She looked around wildly, reaching for her gun. “Chill, its dead,” Shin said.

Wolf finally focused on the corpse of the Celebrant resting not ten feet from her. An entire chunk of the giant knight was just gone. “What did that to it?”

“I did,” Shin said casually. “How you feel? Weird?”

“No. I feel fine. Why?”

“Ghost had to revive you using the Dark. Making sure you didn’t go crazy.”

“Doesn’t feel any different than usual. And you did that? With what?”

Shin toyed a dew drop out, it slid across his palm like it was hydrophobic. “It’s not fire anymore,” he said. “It’s something else,” he shrugged.

“Wow. That’s so cool,” she said and he started. He hadn’t expected that reaction. “What’s it do?”

Shin chucked it at a pile of dead Hive. Unlike the gravity well this one just created a field and all the Hive bodies were crushed down into smaller globs of Hive rot. “Woaaaah,” Wolf said. “It’s kinda like a Stasis field, doesn’t freeze ‘em though.”

“It just crushes them down. Stops them from moving i think. I’ve not tried it on living things,” he shrugged.

“We’re gonna have to play around with it,” because of course Wolf’s first thought was lets fuck with the weird Darkness power. She finally got to her feet. “Crow, you read?”

“Yes. Shin said you killed the Celebrant,” Crow said.

“Spider wants the head,” Shin sighed, also getting to his feet.

“Spider does realize it’s a giant Knight head right?”

“He wants it for decoration,” they could hear Crow’s eye roll.

Wolf sighed. “Fine.”

“We could just fuck off,” Shin said. “Fuck Spider we killed it.”

“If he wants the head I’ll bring him the head. Don’t want to give him an excuse to go back on his deal.”

“Riiiight, your free grab of anything in his collection.”

“Damn right. He owes me big time for all the bullshit I’ve put up with with him,” Wolf said. “I’m going to make him bleed for it.” Shin didn’t know what Wolf could take that would make the Spider actually regret his decision. He was sure it was something of astronomical value. She pulled out a knife.

“You’re going to try to cut a knight’s head off with a knife? Seriously?”

“Well I don’t see you coming up with any better ideas? Not like Stasis can cut and we’re in too deep to pull Solar,” she said, holding the knife, body language annoyed.

“Uhh,” she was right. He didn’t have any better ideas.

“Unless whatever you got can cut?”

“I don’t know,” he said. He pulled out one of his knives. Normally it was nothing to line every edge with Solar Light. Would it work with whatever this was? The Darkness didn’t take to the metal. “I don’t think so.”

Wolf came over and took the knife out of his hand, tossing it casually into the corpse of the Celebrant. Then she held his hand in both of hers. That made him flustered. “Solar’s got no substance normally,” she said. “You need to give it a construct. The Dark’s not like that,” ice started forming over their fingers. “It comes from the inside.”

“That’s cold,” he said.

He could imagine her grin as she said, “Get’s the point across.” The ice receded but his hand was still cold. “I know you never touch the Void but it’s like that. Give it form.”

Shin cocked his head at her. He’d never had to do something like that. She was right, other than some Golden Guns, which was pure solid Light, all Solar Light went through a construct of some sort. He wasn’t adept at making his Light into something. But most other aspects of the Light required no construct. It just was.

“Your ice picks are constructs though,” he said.

“They’re made of Stasis,” she corrected him. “There’s no metal in them.”

“Damn. Hoped I’d tripped you up,” that made her giggle.

A dewdrop formed on his palm. Well that was it. But if it was like the time he’d fooled around with Glitterbomb and made the Gun out of nothing but raw Light then-

“Oh!” Wolf was genuinely surprised when he made a fist and his hand closed around the grip of a knife made of an empty void. The edge caused a small distortion in the toxic air around them. “It cut?”

“I dunno. You gotta let go so I can test it out,” he said feeling deja vu but from the other side. Wolfhad said something like that to him before he’d gone into the Pyramid. Wolf released his hand. He went over to the Celebrant and cut across a piece of its armored shoulder. The knife had no resistance. So much so his entire hand plunged into the quickly rotting carcass. “Oh that’s fucking gross,” he said. Wolf laughed.

“You have to show me how to do that,” Wolf called gleefully.

“Sure, once I figure out how to do it myself,” Shin grumbled and yanked his hand out of the Celebrant. It was covered in gross Hive mush. “This is so gross,” he said.

“Well you got the edge,” Wolf said, still cheerful.

“You’re just smug because you don’t have to do it,” he growled.

“Yeap!” Brat. Well the knife did indeed cut. Cut super well. He went to the Celebrant’s head and with hardly any effort at all cut the head off the neck. The head rolled. “Cool, let’s get this thing back to our reality,” Wolf said.

“I had an idea about that,” Shin said and explained the Ghosts transmatting it between themselves.

“That’s a way better idea than what I had,” Wolf said. Somehow Shin had a feeling she was just going to carry it. Why was he into her again?

The Ghosts leap frogging the Celebrant head made it go quick. The most difficult part of the journey back to the portal was just the impossible jumps over the void. With the Celebrant gone the corrupted Fallen and Hive of Xivu Arath’s spawn had vacated from the area or hadn’t been able to maintain existence inside the Ascendant Realm in the case of the Fallen. They’d also left a trail of bodies in their wake hunting the damn thing too.

Crow and Glint were waiting below the tower the portal let out of. He was pacing and tugging on the hem of his hood anxiously. “Hey Crow, we got your damn head,” Wolf announced as they stepped out of the portal. Then she punted the thing off the tower. It landed with a sickening thud and crunch on the marble below.

“You guys made it!” Crow sounded so relieved. That was a nice feeling.

“Course we did,” and Wolf jumped down, Shin landed next to her, even with a cushion it still popped out a hip from that height. The pain lasted half a second before it was gone and Shin didn’t even remember. “And it’s going in your ship. I ain’t taking this thing back with me,” she kicked the skull.

“I’m sure the Eliksni pilot will be thrilled,” Crow said sarcastically.

“Hey, his boss wanted it. He gets to carry it home,” she shrugged. “We’ll see you at the Shore. Don’t dawdle, got it?”

“I know,” Crow sighed like he was being told something for the uptenth time. Don’t go to the Dreaming City. That still seemed so weird to Shin.

“See you there, Malphur,” and she gave him a cute little Hunter salute as she stepped back in a weave a transmat.

Crow called in whatever was taking him back to the Shore. It surprised Shin it was a skiff. He put his hand on his gun before remembering it was empty and also he shouldn’t shoot it. The head of the Celebrant was transmatted away. “You want to ride with me?” Shin asked Crow even as he was telling Glint to put him on the skiff.

“What?” Crow asked.

“Want to to ride back to the Shore with me instead of those Fallen?” As Shin asked his Ghost brought his ship around, hovering opposite the skiff across the marble porch.

Crow needed to either get a poker face or a helmet because his emotions were plain on his face. There were like six conflicting at once but the main one was gratitude. “Sure.”

“Wolf must be thinking of six different things to not offer,” Shin said as his Ghost transmatted them both onto his ship.

“I figured it was like her name, she likes her privacy,” Crow said, lowering his hood.

“Yeah. That too. I think me and Glitterbomb are the only ones who’ve been in there,” Shin said thoughtfully and went to sit at the cockpit.

He heard Crow talking quietly to Glint, into Glint, telling the Fallen pilot he was going with Shin. He knew because the skiff immediatly spun on its axis and flew away. He looked over his shoulder when he heard Crow come up behind his seat as he made sure everything was okay with his ship. “So you gotta be real close with Wolf to get into her ship, huh?”

“You could say that,” Shin said and finally turned his ship around, course set for out of this weird place in space.

“I thought we were friends,” Crow lamented.

Shin laughed. “Kid, I’ve been friends with Wolf for years. I only just got to see the inside of her ship three months ago.”

“Oh,” Crow said, surprised. “I figured you’d have seen it more than that.”

“Hold onto something,” Shin said.

“What-“ and Crow was tossed to the floor as they hit the turbulance that was getting out of Dreaming City space. It rattled the ship.

“I told you to hold onto something. You good?” Shin chuckled.

“I’ll be fine,” Crow picked himself up off the cabin floor. “That explains why they fly in zero G,” he said to himself, dusting himself off. He leaned against Shin’s seat, looking over the console.

“This is way nicer than that junk bucket you flew,” Glint said.

“You know I’d prefer you not say that aloud,” Crow said. Shin chuckled. “It’s a nice ship,” he added.

“It’s new,” Shin said.

“Really? Do Lightbearers get new ships often?”

“If you can afford it. Expect to collect like your weight in Blue if you want one though,” he said.

“Blue?”

“Right. I keep forgetting you’re an idiot,” Shin said good naturedly. He turned the chair, Crow almost falling forward before grabbing onto the backrest. He opened a few compartments on the side. “Knew I had some laying around,” he picked up a fist sized cube of Glimmer and turned around front again. “Here,” he tossed it at Crow who fumbled to catch it. “That’s about how much Spider trades for a bushel of planetary materials.”

“That’s like ten thousand glimmer,” Crow said slowly.

“Yeap. Shame he doesn’t trade in Purple. Guardians would be lining up outside to trade then,” he chuckled.

“Purple? I assume Glimmer comes in different colors then?”

“How do you load your gun?”

“Uh... Glint gives me bullets.”

Shin turned and fixed Glint with a helmet stare. “You don’t have to keep him that stupid.”

“It wasn’t important,” Glint said, his shell opening and closing like a shrug. “I make bullets what’s it matter where they come from?”

Shin sighed and looked back out the cockpit window. The Shore was in view already. “Too bad we can’t take you back to the Tower. It’d be easier to explain this kinda stuff.”

“Yeah... too bad,” Crow said but sounded like he didn’t want to go. Shin had that feeling there was something Crow and Wolf weren’t telling him again.

Shin brought his ship into formation with the other ships high up out of range of gunfire from the Shore. “And here’s our stop,” Shin said.

“Here,” Crow handed the Glimmer cube back.

“Eh, keep it,” he said, waving it off.

“What? You’re sure?”

“Yeah. I got more where that’s from. Now let’s not keep Wolf waiting.”

His Ghost transmatted him down to the LZ and Crow followed him to Spider’s lair. Wolf was waiting for them, talking with Spider, the head of the Celebrant next to her. Shin hung back again. He wasn’t part of this deal. But he did need to talk to Wolf now that this was over.

“Well the gang is all here. Now I’m waited on baited breath, Wolf. What can I offer you from my vast spoils?” Spider asked, with a grandeous hand wave.

“I want him,” and Wolf looked at Crow standing off to the side. There was a pregnant silence in Spider’s lair. His goons started to chitter uncomfortably.

Spider squeezed the Ghost shell in his hand, furious. They all heard the Ghost material strain under the force of his grip. Then Spider chuckled and relaxed his grip. “Heh, cute. Real funny.”

“You said anything in the room, Spider. Unless you go back on your deals?” Wolf said with all the causality of a threat if Spider went back on his deal. She’d changed weapons on her ship. These were loaded. Shin put his hand down on the handle of the Last Word when Spider’s goons lowered their arc pikes.

Spider leaned forward on his suspension, hostility in all four limbs, towering over Wolf. She just lifted her helmet a bit, not backing down. “You really want my little bird? Fine,” Shin’s hand relaxed it’s grip on the stock of his gun. “You can have him.” Spider looked towards Crow who still had no poker face at all. He was stunned, standing there, staring at Wolf. “Fly away,” Spider motioned to Crow. He turned back to Wolf, “And get the hell out of my lair,” he growled.

“Not so fast,” Wolf said even as Crow stepped away.

“Now what?” Spider growled, his mandibles clicking furiously under his breathing apparatus.

Crow was close enough for Wolf to pluck Glint right out of the air. “Get this off his Ghost; now,” she said, leaving no room for argument.

Spider growled wordlessly and opened one hand out to the Ghost. Wolf released Glint and he carefully floated over to Spider’s outstretched hand. They all heard the terrible noise of Spider casually ripping the explosives off the Ghost’s frame before tossing the Ghost back at them. The motion of it after having part of its ‘normal’ frame ripped off it caused Glint to spiral out of control in the air.

Wolf caught him midair. “I’d say it was a pleasure doing business Spider, but next time I’ll save myself the trouble and just shoot you,” and she turned on her heel and walked out, Glint still in hand. Crow quickly followed.

Shin waited until Spider’s attention had shifted off their figures before following them out onto the Shore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> adoption papers signed. Fuck you Spider Crow’s got new parents now pffft


	7. beginning with a look and then a smile

Wolf and Crow were talking when he found them. “Well that explains why you went mental when we lost the Celebrant,” Shin said once they’d finished. Crow had a dazed look on his face.

“I might have over reacted,” she allowed.

“So now what? What you going to do with him?”

“I have some ideas. You still have the BOO in the EDZ?”

“Yeah, why- Wolf, no,” he said.

“Shin, yes,” she said.

“Ugh. Fine, you gotta tell me who he is first.”

“He’s Crow,” she said.

“Don’t bullshit me,” he said. She rubbed the side of her helmet. Yeah. He knew he was right.

“Crow,” she said, startling the dazed Lightbearer out of his thoughts.

“Huh?”

“Ready to go to Earth?”

“Yeah,” he said, face going through six emotions.

“He’s riding with you,” she said. Shin shrugged.

“What are we doing now?” Crow asked.

“Don’t worry little Light, I got more plans,” she said nicely. She looked at Shin, “See you in orbit,” and she transmatted out.

“Uh—

“You’re riding with me again,” Shin chuckled. “Sorry, no seeing the inside of Wolf’s ship still,” and transmatted them both up.

“Did you know she was going to do that?” Crow asked.

“No. But I had my gun ready in case Spider was an asshole about it,” and Shin got into the pilot’s seat. “Sit in the back, NLS jumps can be weird if you aren’t prepared for them,” he didn’t know how versed Crow was versed in such things. Crow took the warning this time. Shin waited until he was seated and then turned on the NLS drive. The Shore jerked out of their vision in a flash of light.

Earth was a short jump away. A few minutes later the drive wound down and Shin got a ping as they came into upper Earth orbit. He set the auto pilot to go to the ping and got out of the pilot’s chair. “Just hang here for a few okay? I’m going over to Wolf’s ship to talk about some stuff.”

“Can I come?”

“Unfortunately not.”

“Why not?”

“That’s a question for Wolf. I’m just following orders,” Shin took off his helmet. “I’m leaving my Ghost here. Don’t touch my shit.”

“I wasn’t gonna,” Crow said petulantly telling Shin he absolutely had planned on it.

“Keep an eye on him,” he told his Ghost.

“I will,” his Ghost said quietly just to him before transmatting Shin to Wolf’s ship as the auto pilot brought his ship along beside hers.

Wolf was wearing different armor when he showed up on her ship and she was sitting on her lounge, helmet off which sat next to her. “Why do you own so many armor sets?” Shin huffed at her.

“Because unlike you, I have style,” she said.

“Yeah. You do,” he agreed and watched her face register complete confusion at the compliment. “So, why do you care so much about this new Light?”

Wolf sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Remember a few years ago when we first went to the Shore?”

“Yeah. You were hunting down those Oversized scorn chieftains who killed Cayde,” he said.

“I was also hunting down Prince Uldren Sov,” she said.

“Yeah. Heard he went crazy. If he’d been a Guardian it’d have been a problem- wait-

“I killed Uldren. Crow’s... that’s Uldren’s body,” she said. It pained her. It really pained her. He’d never seen her so conflicted. “Zavala sent me to go help Osiris, he’d gotten into trouble. I was too late, found him after Sagira got shot too,” she looked so annoyed with herself. That she could have prevented two Ghosts’ deaths of powerful Guardians the entire Tower needed and she’d just been a moment too late. “That was when I met Crow. Osiris was meddling with Wrathborn, Crow was already hunting them.”

“That’s fucked up,” Shin said, arms folded.

“Yeah. Real fucked up,” she agreed softly.

They were quiet for a while. “Not to be a complete hypocrite here but are you seriously giving Cayde’s killer a second chance.”

“I’m giving you one aren’t I?” Wolf snapped at him.

“I didn’t kill one of the Vanguard.”

“He didn’t either. Crow isn’t Uldren. Guardians get a second chance when they’re reanimated remember? All those memories. Gone. Uldren was sick. Whatever Darkness he had had been festering in him a long time. Crow isn’t like that. You know that.”

Shin was still on the fence about it. But like he said, he was a hypocrite. Finally he sighed. “Even if we see it that way I garuntee you Tower Guardians won’t,” he said.

“I know.”

“Like he just walks around in Guardian patrol spaces without a helmet. Is he crazy?” Shin cried.

“He doesn’t know what he’s done,” she said. “He knows he did something. I haven’t told him. You’re not going to tell him.”

“Fuck no I’m not,” Shin said. “That’s your burden I gladly let you bear alone. You could have just left him with Spider.”

“No I couldn’t have,” she said softly. Yeah. He knew that. Spider would make him something ugly again, eventually. She leaned back on her lounge, “Now you know. You, me, and Osiris are the only Guardians who know Uldren Sov’s body is up and walking as a Guardian.”

“What’s Osiris’ opinion of him?”

“I don’t know if he knew Uldren well enough to have an opinion. And he wasn’t really around when I killed all those fucking forsaken bastards. That’s why I want him to stay with you a little while. Get him used to doing Guardian things, while I talk with Osiris, we can figure something out.”

“And what if someone finds him?”

“Well I expect you to shoot them first,” she said which shocked him. “I am not privy to all his Guardian interactions, but he has had some. That’s why he flinches.” Yeah, Crow had seemed real nervous around Shin the first few times. Like he was waiting for Shin to pull a gun on him.

They shared a long silence. “You really went all in on this whole forgiveness thing, huh? I thought you held grudges better.”

“You’d think,” she muttered.

“Well if Crow helped with that I should thank him. Otherwise I’m pretty sure you would have shot me a few times by now.”

He smiled when he made her chuckle. “Don’t worry, there’s still time.” She looked at him. “And I thought it’d be good for you to help him on Earth. Fresh start you know?”

“I wasn’t expecting that to mean being a mentor to an idiot,” he said. He liked when she laughed. “But I know plenty about people looking at you and thinking they know everything about you.”

“Yeah,” Wolf said, also knowing.

“And about ignoring them.” Wolf nodded, yeah she knew that too. “So you’re giving us both a clean slate huh?”

“I’d rather do that than hold a grudge. Since I took Stasus it feels easier to do. I don’t like that,” she narrowed her eyes.

“So does that mean I get to try again?” Shin asked.

“Hmm?” Wolf cocked her head at him.

“Well, a do over,” he said. “I kinda fucked it up before I was gone.”

“Oh,” she bit her lips to repress a smile. “Yeah. I guess you do. Lucky you.”

Shin looked down at her, thinking. Wolf just looked amused but he knew even when not with any weapons she had a knife in reach. “I’ll take Crow out to the EDZ, get him actually familiar with being a Guardian. You go do that wild thing you do where you talk important Guardians like they’re children.”

She laughed and stood up, stepping a bit closer to him. “What can I say? Act like a baby brat I’ll treat you like one. By the way, I like your hair like this. Now get off my ship,” and she gave him a kiss on the cheek before he was transmatted back to his own ship.

He was in the middle of being surprised when he appeared on his ship. Crow was right where he left him, arms folded, moody because Shin kept his ship clean, neat, and nothing to touch or fiddle with.

“Shin, you okay?” Crow asked him when he was just standing there staring at where Wolf had been.

“Ah—Yeap. Peachy.”

“What’d Wolf have to say?”

Shin was still disorientated. Wolf liked his hair? Wolf had kissed him? His brain wasn’t working right. “Uh- erm— right, uh, she said you were going to hang with me for a while while she talked to Osiris.”

“Osiris is that Warlock I saved a few weeks ago, right?” Crow asked Glint.

“Yes,” Glint said from Crow’s hand. His shell was still in a bad way from Spider ripping the explosives off it.

“So what next?”

“First, Glint needs a better shell,” and he looked at his Ghost. His Ghost did nothing. “Oh don’t be dramatic. You haven’t changed your shell in seventy years, you can stand to share,” he said sternly. His Ghost just sighed before transmatting a bin from ship storage into the cabin. It was full of Ghost shells of different colors, styles, and fashions for partnered Ghosts from the past few centuries. “Pick one you want I’m going to go set the waypoints to get us to my BOO,” he said. Crow looked overwhelmed.

“Then first thing first we’re getting you a _fucking helmet.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> give 👏🏽Crow 👏🏽a 👏🏽helmet 👏🏽Bungie! 👏🏽 Please. That mask is HIDEOUS


End file.
